Bill Murray Pops Out of a Cake on His Final Letterman Appearance

It’s been a sentimental few weeks on The Late Show, and though there is something deeply melancholy about Letterman and Murray saying goodbye to each other, Dave’s most loyal guest—he topped our power rankings with ease—made sure that it didn’t start that way. In fact, he made his appearance the way any good stripper might: From the inside of a giant cake. Watch it here:

At the end of his appearance, the cake-splattered Murray decided to race outside the studio and organize a sing-along among the waiting Manhattan crowds, begging Letterman to stay:

All in all, it was a vintage Murray performance—funny, wild, dangerously close to careening out of control at every moment, and in the end quite meaningful and more than a little sad. A fitting final appearance.

For your additional viewing pleasure, here’s a highlight reel of Murray’s appearances over the years, and don’t miss Bonnie Stiernberg’s excellent piece on how Letterman’s midwestern upbringing informed his career. The highlights: